"AHHHH, I gotta go to school fast!"
Joine jumped out of his bed and checked the time.
"Shit, it's that late already. I only have an hour to clean up."
Panic hit him as he rushed around, trying to get ready.
"AHH, where's my key? I mean the classroom key!"
Joine searched everywhere. Under the bed. In his closet. On his desk. Then…
"..."
He stopped in silence.
"…Wow. Of course," he muttered. "The only place it would be is in my damn bag."
Joine wasted no time. He grabbed his bag and dumped everything out until he finally found the keys. After that, he hurriedly packed everything back in and rushed to finish getting ready to leave.
"Okay, I have everything… oh yeah, the crown. Uh, what should I do with you?"
Joine thought for a moment, debating whether to carry it with him or leave it behind.
"…Nah. I'd rather carry it," he decided. "Don't want my little sister to see it."
He placed the crown back into his bag and went to change into different clothes.
"Okay. I'm ready."
As he walked toward the door and opened it, he froze.
"WHATTTT?"
His sister was lying there, still asleep.
"…Are you kidding?" he muttered. "Guess you were holding it in your sleep or something."
He sighed softly. "Okay, fine. I guess I owe you a proper apology… but when I'm back."
Joine carefully picked her up and carried her to her bed.
"There."
He adjusted the blanket, and then stepped back.
"Alright… I'm heading out. Sorry again"
Joine quickly ran out of his sister's room and gently closed the door behind him. He dashed down the stairs and, before heading out, decided to grab something to eat. He rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a slice of bread, and stuffed it into his mouth. "Okay, gotta go, munch munch, speed!" he said as he hurried out of the house.
Meanwhile, in Solmara
At the palace, panic had erupted. All the guards were on full alert, shouting orders over the ringing of alarms and the heavy clang of boots and metal echoing through the grand halls.
"Damn it! Where is the commander?" one yelled, his voice cracking with fear.
"Everyone, search the area! Every corridor, every hall, now!" another shouted.
"Shit, shit! We're so dead!" a third guard cried, pacing back and forth.
"Calm down, everyone!" someone shouted over the chaos, trying to regain control, but the tension in the air was thick, like a storm about to break.
"Everyone, calm down, shut up, and tell me what's going on!" the commander shouted sharply.
Immediately, the guards froze, their panic faltering under the sheer authority in his voice. Every pair of eyes snapped toward him
Everyone stopped and stood at attention, saluting the commander.
"Sir!" they all shouted in unison, voices trembling slightly.
The commander walked up to one of the guards and stopped in front of him.
"You there!"
"Y-yes, sir?" the guard stammered, his knees nearly buckling under the weight of fear.
"What seems to be the problem here?" the commander demanded his gaze sharp enough to make the guard sweat.
"W-well… w-well…" the guard glancing nervously at his comrades
"Talk, damn it!" the commander snapped, his patience thinning.
The guard swallowed hard, chest tightening.
"Ok, sir… well, you see… the Crown of Solmara was stolen, and we couldn't find who did it or where they are now, sir."
A heavy silence fell over the hall.
"Oh… hahaha," the commander muttered suddenly.
Everyone froze, confused, but went along with him.
"HAHAHAHA!!" the commander laughed, louder this time.
"Hahaha…" the guards laughed nervously, unsure whether to join in.
Then the commander snapped. He grabbed the guard by the neck, lifting him slightly off the ground.
"YOU THINK THIS IS A GAME? DO YOU KNOW WHY WE HAVE GUARDS NOW? TO PROTECT AND TO MAKE SURE THE POWER WITHIN THE CROWN DOESN'T FALL INTO THE WRONG HANDS! IF WE HAD GUARDS TO PROTECT THE PALACE 500 YEARS AGO, WE WOULDN'T BE IN THIS MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE! THAT STUPID MAN… THE SO-CALLED MOST POWERFUL… COULDN'T EVEN KILL A SINGLE HUMAN!"
Everyone looked at the scene. One of their own men was being held, and no one dared to move or say a single word. Fear kept them frozen in place.
But someone decided to speak up.
"Please commander, let him go."
"What are you doing, are you trying to get killed?" someone whispered urgently.
"Hmm," the commander said slowly. "Who said that?"
The brave guard stepped forward, hands shaking but standing firm.
"M-me."
The commander paused, then decided to spare the guard and threw him aside. The man hit the ground hard.
"You better be grateful," the commander said. "What is your name?"
"I-it's Tavin."
"Alright Tavin, join me as my right hand man."
"WHATT?" everyone was surprised.
"What really?" Tavin said, stunned.
The commander turned to face the others.
"See everyone, while all of you stood here watching your own man nearly die, none of you decided to step up. Anyone that abandons their own is already weak. Power means nothing if you cannot protect each other. If you do not have your brother's back, then you do not deserve to stand beside me"
The hall went silent.
The commander walked up to Tavin and rested a hand on his shoulder, saying,
"Ok let's go. I needed a right hand man, someone worth trusting."
He turned back to the guards.
"Everyone get back to your posts and find that crown like your life depended on it."
"Yes sir."
Everyone rushed into motion. Some returned to their posts while others spread out across the palace grounds, searching desperately for the crown.
Outside the palace walls, a boy wandered casually, watching the chaos unfold below.
"Hehehe… oh, you foolish guards," he muttered. "Running around like animals"
He glanced back at the towering palace one last time.
"I wonder how my human friend doing. Oh well, guess I should go."
With that, the boy lifted off the ground and flew away, vanishing into the sky.
And back to Joine, as he reached the school earlier than usual
"Okay, damn… I need to catch my breath," Joine said, bending slightly as he tried to steady his breathing.
"Ahh, yes, much better, well, I guess I should get to class and try to fix… I don't know how, but oh well. That's future Joine's problem"
Joine straightened up and adjusted his backpack, then headed into the school. The hallways were still empty.
"Mmm… guess I'm the first," he muttered.
He walked toward his classroom and stopped in front of the door.
"Alright…. here we goo!"
He slowly pushed the door open.
"Whatttt?! I don't believe it."
Joine stood there staring. The classroom looked completely normal. The desks were in place, the chairs weren't flipped over, and even the window was perfectly fine, not a crack in it.
Joine blinked
He stepped inside slowly, looking around.
"Even the floor is clean… am I still dreaming?"
He lightly slapped his own cheek.
"Nope… definitely awake"
He glanced around one more time, and then shrugged.
"But hey, I'm not complaining"
Joine walked over to his seat and dropped his bag beside the desk.
"Alright… guess I'll take a short nap like usual. It's still early anyway."
He pulled out his chair and sat down, stretching his arms above his head.
"Just five minutes…"
He rested his head on the desk and closed his eyes.
The boy appeared again, hovering silently above Joine as he slept.
"Ah… there you are," he whispered. "Mm… he's asleep. Maybe I should wake him."
The boy slowly reached out but then…
Footsteps echoed down the hallway.
The boy paused.
"…Oh well. Guess I'll wait until the time comes. Bye once again"
In an instant, he drifted upward and vanished and just as the classroom door creaked open.
"Is someone there?"
The teacher stepped inside, glancing around cautiously.
Her eyes landed on Joine.
"Oh, it's you, Joine. Why are you so early?"
She looked around the room again, surprised.
"…And wow. The class has never looked better."
Joine blinked up at her, while half asleep
"Oh, hey, miss"
He quickly sat up straight and wiped his face with his sleeve.
"Well? You gotta answer me. Why are you here so early?"
"I just woke up early," he said, stretching his arms. "You know I'm always early."
The teacher raised an eyebrow.
"Mmm. True, I guess."
She walked further into the classroom, glancing at the windows. Joine watched her carefully.
She stopped near one of them.
"…Strange," she murmured.
Joine's heart skipped for just a second.
"W-What's strange?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
The teacher lightly tapped the frame.
"I could've sworn this window was in terrible condition yesterday. I thought I'd have to report it."
Joine froze internally.
"Oh… really?" he said with a nervous chuckle. "Guess it fixed itself."
She gave him a look.
"Windows do not fix themselves, Joine."
"…Yeah. That would be weird," he replied quickly.
She stared at him for a moment longer, then shook her head.
"Well, I'll get some work done, okay? So just be quiet or go back to sleep. Just don't disturb me."
"O-Okay, miss."
The teacher walked to her desk and took out her laptop, a stack of graded papers, a red pen, and her planner. She adjusted her glasses and began flipping through the papers, occasionally making small notes.
Joine leaned back in his chair and decided to just sit quietly. He stared outside, looking at the sky and the distant buildings beyond the school grounds.
"Mmmm… so nice, sometimes I wish I could sleep on the clouds," he thought to himself.
Meanwhile, at Joine's house…
His little sister stirred in bed.
"What the… what happened?"
She yawned and rubbed her eyes, still half asleep. She slowly pushed herself up and looked around her room.
"…Wait."
Her brows furrowed.
"I don't remember coming back to bed…"
"That idiot probably carried me"
She swung her legs off the bed and stood up, stretching. After finishing her usual morning stretch, she stepped out of her room and looked down the hallway.
The house was silent
Too silent
Then she noticed something else
"…Wait."
She rushed to Joine's room and burst the door open.
Empty.
His bed untouched, his bag gone
"He left."
She stood there for a moment, processing it.
Then her eyes sharpened slightly.
"…You carried me back to bed and still ran off without saying anything?"
She clenched her fist.
"Joine…"
Meanwhile, back to Joine, he was still looking through the window.
The sky stretched wide and blue above the school, a few lazy clouds drifting by. Birds passed overhead, their shadows briefly sliding across the courtyard below
He rested his chin in his hand.
"Must be nice…" he thought. "Just flying around with nothing to worry about"
A soft breeze tapped lightly against the window, and the sunlight warmed the side of his face. For a moment, everything, quiet and peaceful
Joine let out a slow breath
"Yeah… this is fine."
He leaned back in his chair, letting the calm settle over him.
Time passed quickly.
The empty hallways slowly came back to life.
Footsteps echoed down the corridor. Lockers slammed shut. Laughter bounced off the walls as students went into their classrooms, talking about homework they didn't do and games they stayed up too late playing.
Soon the whole school was loud like usual.
Meanwhile, Joine was still by the window.
"Yo, you good?" his best friend Kay asked.
Kay was seventeen, a bit shorter than Joine but lean and wiry, with messy black hair that spikes out in random directions. His pale skin matches his mischievous grin, and his dark eyes are always alive with energy, scanning for something fun or chaotic to do. His casual school uniform is never perfectly neat, but that suits his playful, unpredictable personality. He's loud, energetic, and the kind of friend who teases Joine endlessly—but he's loyal when it really matters.
Joine blinked and glanced over his shoulder. "Huh? Yeah. Just looking at nature"
"Sure, dude. Enjoying the large buildings too? That's mostly what you see."
"Haha, yeah, yeah." Joine smirked
More students poured in as they took their seats.
"Okay everyone, settle down and let's begin class."
Joine turned away from the window and reached into his bag, pulling out his notebook.
"Okay class, turn to page 32."
Textbooks opened. Pages flipped in uneven rhythm across the room. A chair scraped loudly somewhere near the back, followed by a quiet "my bad."
Joine grabbed his textbook and flipped through it slowly.
29
30
31
The fluorescent lights above hummed faintly.
Someone coughed.
A pen clicked over and over again.
32
His fingers stopped.
For a moment, the classroom felt… farther away.
The chatter dulled.
The teacher's voice blurred into background noise
Even the scratching of pencils seemed distant.
Like he was sitting underwater
"Kid"
Joine froze
"Huh, what the…"
"Listen, kid"
His eyes shifted around the room
"Am I the only one hearing this?"
No one reacted. A pencil tapped against a desk. Someone laughed near the back.
His chest tightened.
He lowered his gaze to the page, forcing himself to breathe evenly.
"Just focus, ignore it"
"JOINE!!"
"Huh?!"
He jolted in his seat, shoulders tense, hands slightly shaking.
Kay leaned closer. "Yo bro, you good?" he whispered.
"Uh… y-yeah"
Joine swallowed hard
"Okay. Calm down. It's just your thoughts"
"…But I control my thoughts"
Before he could finish the thought, his body stiffened.
His fingers twitched
Slowly… unnaturally…. his arm began to rise.
Not by his choice.
His breath hitched.
"What's going on… "Kay, help," he whispered
His hand shot fully into the air.
"Teacher, can I go use the restroom?"
Joine's eyes widened.
"I didn't say that", he thought, confused.
Kay stared at him. He didn't need an explanation. He could tell something was wrong.
"Yes, teach, can we go? It'll be quick," Kay added smoothly.
The teacher sighed. "Alright, Can't trust you to behave today, Joine. Be back fast."
"Got it, teach. Thank you."
Kay grabbed Joine's wrist and pulled him toward the door.
The classroom noise swallowed them as they stepped out.
The door shut behind them.
Kay turned to him immediately. "Dude, you sure you're good? You're acting weird."
He pointed at Joine's hand. "And what's that in your hand?"
"Like hell I would know," Joine muttered. "I still can't even feel my own body… and I can't control myself."
He exhaled shakily. "At least I still have control over my mouth."
Before either of them could say another word, Joine's body stiffened again.
His shoulders locked.
"…Here we go again."
Suddenly, his body moved.
He grabbed Kay by the arm and sprinted down the hallway.
"Ahhh yo… WO, what now?!" Kay stumbled but forced his self to keep up.
They dashed into the restroom, bursting through the door before slamming it shut behind them.
Click
Locked
Joine bent forward, hands on his knees, breathing hard.
"Damn…"
"Damn indeed," Kay replied, just as out of breath.
The lights above flickered slightly.
Then…
Joine slowly straightened.
"…Hey."
He flexed his fingers.
He lifted his arms.
Jumped once and Twice
He even struck a few random poses.
"I got control again."
Kay blinked. "That's good… but what just happened?"
"Mm… I don't know."
Joine rolled his shoulders, testing the feeling.
He could move.
He could feel.
Then…
He felt something in his hand.
He froze.
"…Wait."
Kay's eyes narrowed. "What?"
Joine slowly lifted his arm and turned his palm toward his face.
"…You're right. There is something in my hand."
"It looks kinda like..."
Joine's breath caught.
His pupils shrank.
"WHAT THE HELL… WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
Kay looked at Joine's shocked face.
"DAMMIT!! I knew it… I'm I'M! cursed!"
"Dude, why are you freaking out? What's even in your hands?"
Joine stretched out his hand toward Kay and slowly opened it.
"What does it look like to you?"
"Uhh… looks like two pieces of something." Kay tilted his head in confusion.
He took a moment to figure it out, and then suddenly slammed his fist into his palm.
"Ah, I see it now. It looks like two pieces of a crown."
"Yes it is I think"
"Dude, it looks like it's worth a lot. Why don't we go and sell it?" Kay said, his eyes practically turning into dollar signs.
"OH Hell no! Didn't you see what it did to me?"
"that's more reason to get rid of it"
Joine hesitated, stomping his foot against the ground.
"…well"
He raised the crown closer to his face.
"What do you want?"
The crown didn't respond.
They waited for a moment.
"See? Nothing happened," Kay said
Joine frowned slightly
"One last time… if you can talk, then talk to me or do something. What do you want?"
Once again, the crown didn't respond. It didn't even move
Joine hesitated, and then sighed, lowering his hand
"Well… I guess… we could just sell it… maybe… let whoever buys it deal with it…"
"Okay, good. We can go to a pawn shop after school," Kay said.
"Alright, but I'm getting 80% of the money, got it?" Joine replied
"Yeah man, you found it, so that's fair," Kay said with a grin.
Joine and Kay dapped up each other. Joine slipped the crown pieces into his bag and zipped it shut.
They headed back to class, looking like they had just won the lottery
"…Oh, wait," Joine said, a sheepish grin spreading across his face.
"What is it, Joine?"
"I gotta piss, for real."
"Bro, okay! Hurry up," Kay said, laughing a little
Joine quickly handed his bag to Kay and rushed off to the restroom, slipping into an empty stall.
About three minutes later, he walked back out, looking completely relieved.
"Ahh… yeah, that's better"
"Come on, Joine, we gotta get back to class," Kay said
"Oh, yeah… let's go," Joine replied
"Here," handing Joine his bag back
"Thanks"
"Yeah, no problem bro"
The classroom door opened
"And with that, class is over. Don't forget to do your homework," the teacher said
Joine and Kay stood by the entrance while everyone else was already packing up and getting ready to leave
"Uhhh…" Joine muttered, scratching his head in confusion
"Oh, it's you two and look at that, right on time too," the teacher said
"Why is everyone packing up?" Kay asked, rubbing the back of his head
"Why don't you check the time?" she replied
"What the, how is it already 3 p.m.?"
Joine and Kay mumbled to each other, confused
The teacher walked over, grabbed them both by the arms, and dragged them outside before shutting the door behind them. She then crossed her arms and looked at them sternly.
"So, care to explain, Joine?"
"Well… uh… I don't know. We were just in the restroom"
She turned to Kay
"And you, Kay, I expected better from you."
"But, but, miss…"
Joine and Kay both started talking at the same time, trying to explain, but the teacher quickly cut them off.
"Alright! Enough! I don't want to hear it. You both will clean the entire classroom—top to bottom."
They stood there in shock but didn't complain
"Yes, miss," they both said
"Good," she replied
She turned, opened the door, and spoke to the class
"Alright, everyone, you can leave now. Don't forget your homework. I'll be checking it tomorrow."
"Yes, miss," the class responded as they began to leave
"Good," the teacher said, adjusting her glasses.
A while later, Joine and Kay were given the keys. Once everyone had gone, they started cleaning the classroom, somehow turning the chore into something fun as they joked around and worked together.
They stepped out of the classroom and into the open air
"Ahh, man… that was crazy," Joine said, stretching his body.
"Yeah, bro, but we're done now," Kay replied.
There was a brief pause
Joine turned to kay
"…Kay, will the pawn shop still be open?"
Kay's eyes widened
"OH SHIT!! We gotta hurry!"
"LET'S GO!!"
Without another word, Kay grabbed Joine and took off, the two of them sprinting down the street toward the pawn shop.